Maria Guleghina and Pl?cido Domingo star in Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur, which opens at the Metropolitan Opera on February 6 with Domingo returning to sing the role of his Met debut 40 years ago. Guleghina sings Adriana, the famous actress in love with the military hero Maurizio, sung by Domingo. Olga Borodina sings the Principessa di Bouillon, Adriana's rival for Maurizio's affections, and Roberto Frontali is Adriana's faithful friend Michonnet. Marco Armiliato conducts all performances, and Marcello Giordani sings the role of Maurizio on February 17. All the principal singers other than Domingo are performing their roles for the first time at the Met. Mark Lamos stages this revival, with set designs by C.M. Cristini after sketches by Camillo Paravicini and costume designs by Ray Diffen with additional costumes by Jane Greenwood. Lighting design is by Duane Schuler and choreography by Sergei Gritsai.
In partnership with Great Lakes Theater Festival, the PlayhouseSquare Arts Education Department is hosting the Cleveland Branch Finals of the annual English-Speaking Union's (ESU) National Shakespeare Competition on Saturday, February 28. Students from 37 Northeast Ohio schools are participating. Cleveland City Councilman Joe Cimperman will deliver the event's keynote address at 9:00 a.m.
'We are so pleased to be partnering with PlayhouseSquare and Great Lakes Theater Festival on this project,' stated John Rampe, president of the Cleveland Branch of the English-Speaking Union.
Cleveland, OH ? In partnership with Great Lakes Theater Festival, the PlayhouseSquare Arts Education Department is hosting the Cleveland Branch Finals of the annual English-Speaking Union?s (ESU) National Shakespeare Competition on Saturday, February 28. Students from 37 Northeast Ohio schools are participating. Cleveland City Councilman Joe Cimperman will deliver the event?s keynote address at 9:00 a.m.
?We are so pleased to be partnering with PlayhouseSquare and Great Lakes Theater Festival on this project,? stated John Rampe, president of the Cleveland Branch of the English-Speaking Union.
The winning student from the Cleveland Branch Finals will travel to the National Shakespeare Competition in New York City in April. The winner of that competition receives a full scholarship to the British American Drama Academy?s Midsummer Conservatory Program in Oxford, England.
The Shakespeare Competition has been the primary educational program of the ESU Cleveland Branch for more than 20 years. Started with 500 students in New York City schools in 1983, the ESU?s Shakespeare Competition is now a national curriculum-based program that has helped almost 250,000 high school students develop their understanding of Shakespeare -- the beauty and scope of his language as well as the timeless themes embodied in his works -- and their ability to communicate that understanding. Currently the program reaches 16,000 students and 2,000 teachers annually via competitions run by 60 ESU branches across the United States.
?We are excited to bring the Shakespeare Competition to PlayhouseSquare,? said Colleen Porter, director of arts education at PlayhouseSquare. ?It offers yet another avenue for young people to experience the power of live theater and we are especially proud to connect them with the expertise of Great Lakes Theater Festival.?
The participating schools include Beachwood High School, Beaumont School, Benedictine High School, Berea High School, Brecksville-Broadview Hts. High School, Brush High School, Carl Shuler, Cleveland Hts. High School, Cleveland School of the Arts, Cuyahoga Hts. High School, East High School, Fairview High School, Garrett Morgan, Gilmore Academy, Glenville High School, Hathaway Brown School, Hawken School, Holy Name High School, Independence High School, James Ford Rhodes High School, John Adams High School, Lakewood High School, Laurel School, Lincoln West High School, Magnificat High School, Mayfield High School, Midpark High School, Normandy High School, North Olmsted High School, Shaker Hts. High School, St. Edward High School, St. Ignatius, St. Joseph Academy, Success Tech Academy, Warrensville High School, Westlake High School and Whitney Young High School.
PlayhouseSquare places incredibly strong emphasis on arts education and believes that it is essential to improving the quality of life in our community. Through a variety of workshops and classes designed for people of all ages, the PlayhouseSquare Arts Education Department offers avenues to discovery, appreciation and development in and through the performing arts, connecting participants with national and international artists in unique and meaningful ways. PlayhouseSquare initiates collaboration among educators, artists and other community organizations, and actively forms mutually beneficial partnerships with local arts organizations to create and present arts education experiences of the highest quality. Always striving to fulfill its role as an asset to the Northeast Ohio community, PlayhouseSquare is an active leader in advocating arts education both locally and within the performing arts industry.
This spring, the Metropolitan Opera will present The Audition, a documentary film about the intense challenges and pressures young opera singers face as they try to become opera stars. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Susan Froemke, The Audition will be shown on 400 screens across the country on April 19 at 3pm EST (and in Canada on June 6 at 1pm EST) as part of the Metropolitan Opera's series of high definition presentations in movie theaters and performing arts centers.
The Audition is a suspenseful competition narrative that provides a revealing behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to make it as an opera star. The feature-length film documents the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, where each year thousands of hopefuls compete for a cash prize, the chance to sing on the storied Met stage-and the opportunity to launch a major operatic career.
The film focuses on the final week of the competition, as judges narrow the field down from 22 semi-finalists to11 finalists while the stakes get higher and the pressure grows more intense. The documentary crew was given unprecedented access to the singers, judges, and events backstage at the Met.
Primary Stages (Casey Childs, Executive Producer; Andrew Leynse, Artistic Director; Elliot Fox, Managing Director) has announced complete casting for the New York premiere of Shipwrecked!
Desire Under the Elms at Goodman Theater opens tonight. Rumors have spread that the show has Broadway in its sights, and hopes to come to New York next spring.
The show has been extended before opening night, as it will now play through March 1.
Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Robert Falls and renowned actor Brian Dennehy bring their artistic partnership to new heights with Eugene O'Neill's haunting drama, Desire Under the Elms-marking their fifth collaboration on O'Neill's work over two decades. Falls' cast includes stage and screen stars Carla Gugino (Entourage, Spy Kids, Sin City) Pablo Schreiber (Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Awake and Sing!), Boris McGiver (The Wire) and Daniel Stewart Sherman (Broadway's Cyrano de Bergerac).
The centerpiece production of Goodman Theatre's two-month 'A Global Exploration: Eugene O'Neill in the 21st Century,' Desire Under the Elms appears January 17 - March 1 in the Goodman's 856-seat Albert Ivar Theatre. Tickets are $25 - 82; a full Exploration calendar, including dates, times and ticket prices, appears at the end of the release. Allstate is the Corporate Sponsor Partner of Desire Under the Elms and The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation is the Sponsor Partner. UBS is the Lead Corporate Sponsor for 'A Global Exploration: Eugene O'Neill in the 21st Century' and The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is the Sponsor Partner. Motorola Foundation is the Corporate Sponsor Partner. American Airlines is the Exclusive Airline of Goodman Theatre.
Celebrated for her great dramatic performances in both film and theater (most recently the Broadway revival of 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses'), Laura Linney has just won the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries for her role in HBO's JOHN ADAMS. Laura Linney was born in New York City on February 5, 1964, into a theatre family. Her father is the prominent playwright Romulus Linney. Linney's world revolved, in part, around his profession from the earliest age. She graduated from Brown University in 1986 and studied acting at Julliard and the Arts Theatre School in Moscow and, thereafter, embarked on a career on the Broadway stage receiving favorable notices for her work in such plays as 'Hedda Gabler' and 'Six Degrees of Separation'.
The 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards were simulcast live nationally on TNT and TBS on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2009 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, 7 p.m. CT, and 6 p.m. MT from the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center.
Verdi's popular masterpiece Rigoletto returns to the repertory on January 24 with baritone Roberto Frontali making his Met role debut as the hunchback jester and conductor Riccardo Frizza in his company debut. They are joined by Aleksandra Kurzak as Gilda and Giuseppe Filianoti as the Duke of Mantua, both of whom are also singing their roles for the first time at the Met. Viktoria Vizin makes her Met debut as Maddalena, and Mikhail Petrenko sings his first Sparafucile with the company.
Georgian bass George Gagnidze makes his Met debut on January 27 in the title role and sings the following five performances through February 12. Piotr Beczala, whose performances as Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor last fall drew wide acclaim, sings the Duke on February 12.
A second run of performances begins April 1 and features the first Met Gilda of Diana Damrau, who earlier this season created a sensation with her interpretation of the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor. She will be partnered with Joseph Calleja as the Duke and Roberto Frontali as Rigoletto. Frontali returns for the April performances which run through April 17. Tamara Mumford sings Maddalena and Raymond Aceto is Sparafucile in the April cast.
About the performers
Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Robert Falls and renowned actor Brian Dennehy bring their artistic partnership to new heights with Eugene O'Neill's haunting drama, Desire Under the Elms-marking their fifth collaboration on O'Neill's work over two decades. Falls' cast includes stage and screen stars Carla Gugino (Entourage, Spy Kids, Sin City) Pablo Schreiber (Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Awake and Sing!), Boris McGiver (The Wire) and Daniel Stewart Sherman (Broadway's Cyrano de Bergerac).
Pittsburgh CLO is proud to announce the cast and creative team for the premiere of My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra, which runs February 12 through May 10 at the CLO Cabaret. Relive the magic of an American legend with 56 of his greatest songs, including 'Fly Me to the Moon,' 'Young at Heart,' 'All the Way,' and, of course, 'My Way.' Tickets are available online at pittsburghCLO.org, or by calling 412-456-6666.
On Monday, January 12, 2009 - 11:00 A.M. (EST)
There will be a live webcast of the Alan Gilbert and NY Philharmonic 2009-10 press conference
From the stage of Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, Home of the New York Philharmonic
The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards took place Sunday, January 11 2009 at The Beverly Hilton with a live telecast that aired on NBC at 8 PM (EST) and produced by Dick Clark Productions in association with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
Laura Linney is going to be on Inside the Actor's Studio, Monday 1/12 @ 7/6c. Celebrated for her great dramatic performances in both film and theater (most recently the revival of 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses'), Laura chats with James Lipton about some of her most memorable roles.
The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards will take place Sunday, January 11, 2009 at The Beverly Hilton with a live telecast airing on NBC at 8 PM (EST) and produced by Dick Clark Productions in association with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
Inside the Actor's Studio welcomes actress Laura Linney on Monday January 12th at 7pm on Bravo. Celebrated for her great dramatic performances in both film and theater (most recently the Broadway revival of 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses'), Linney discusses with James Lipton some of her most memorable roles.
Laura Linney is going to be on Inside the Actor's Studio, Monday 1/12 @ 7/6c. Celebrated for her great dramatic performances in both film and theater (most recently the revival of 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses'), Laura chats with James Lipton about some of her most memorable roles.
The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) announced the winners of the 14th annual Critics' Choice Awards at a star-studded ceremony earlier this evening at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium and which aired live on VH1.
